Dr. Habibat Oladosu Uthman
“Gender Politics In The 'House Of God'- Comparing Islam And Traditional Religions In West Africa”
Abstract
Comparative studies on gender among Muslims and traditional worshipers in West Africa appear to be largely limited. This is probably due to the assumption that adequate account of the deprivation that women experience in their attempt to affirm their agency and subjectivity even in the “House of God” could always be given through the study of the individual religions that they are affiliated with. This project proposes a radical shift in the field. It furnishes a new direction in gender studies that sees gender politics as a‘universal’ reality within which the “Crescent', the “Sėkplóndo and “Lightening”- metaphors for Islam, Vodun (traditional deity in Lome, Togo) and Sàngό (One of the deities in Yoruba culture) - find patronage. The project makes use of a combination of social sciences and humanistic research instruments. It becomes evident that gender politics is a reality that transcends all barriers, be it the profane or the Sacred. In fact, in large parts of West African societies where traditional and Islamic norms and values hold sway, religion is being deployed by patriarchal entities as a tool with which women could be put 'where they belong'.
Date: 11th of July 2024, 12 -2 pm, at S58, RW I
RS Learning meeting
https://uni-bayreuth.zoom.us/j/67311615467?pwd=SVhFSFpuWWswY3YrSEE2V0RXMDUwZz09
Meeting-ID: 673 1161 5467, Password: 575702